The Second Circle
by Lady Alianne
Summary: This about a new circle, a street girl with plant magic, a noble girl with cook magic, a merchant boy with stone magic, and a merchant girl with thread magic. The four of them will eventually meet at Discipline and become friends.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Emelean, Winding Circle, and anything else connected to the Circle books by Tamora Pierce.

Chapter One

Lady Cordeline fa Maren, Cordy for short, stood next to the cook, watching her mix batter for cake. "Could you get me the baking pan, Cordy?" asked the cook, Mariana.

Cordy nodded and got the pan. Ever since she was old enough to walk, she had been fascinated with the kitchen. Or rather, with cooking and baking. When ever she could slip away, she would go to the kitchen and watch and help Mariana with the cooking. Whenever her parents took her on their travels, Cordy would find the kitchens of wherever they were staying and watch the cooks there.

It had taken awhile, but Cordy had gotten Mariana to call her simply "Cordy" instead of "my lady" or "Lady Cordy" and to let her help with cooking and baking. Now Mariana saw her as a fixture in the kitchen and didn't try to tell her that cooking wasn't lady's work or ask her politely to leave.

Cordy had just slipped the cake pan into the oven and was helping Mariana clean up when her mother, Lady Drusilla, walked in. "Cordeline! How many times have I told you that the kitchen is not a proper place for noble ladies? If you wanted something to eat, well and good, but cooking is not a suitable occupation for you!"

"I don't care!" retorted Cordy. "Mother, I like cooking and baking!"

"It doesn't matter, Cordeline fa Maren. Cooking and baking are not things ladies should be doing. I think it is time that your father and I sent you to Winding Circle Temple. You are eleven, need to be in the company of other noble girls and you will be well educated there. Tomorrow we will see to the necessary preparations. Now you are going to go to your room and work on embroidery or read."

Cordy made a face, but did as her mother told. Reading was the other thing she likes to do besides help in the kitchen, so she got a book from the family library and went to her room to read.

* * *

Kirana watched the stall with minature trees curiously. She felt attracted to them as she did with all plants. However, the trees were beyond her reach. She was just a poor street girl with no possibilty of ever getting the money to buy one or no place to keep it. And even if she was willing to steal it, the owner of the stall would use his plant magic to capture her. She knew that the owner was Briar Moss, famed plant mage. When her parents were still alive, they had told her stories about Briar and his three friends, who were also mages. 

Kira bit her lip and quickly thought of something else to keep from crying. Her parents, who had run a inn, had died two years ago, when she was nine. Her uncle, her mother's brother, had taken over the inn. He was not nice at all, forcing Kira into virtually being a slave and beating her whenever he had too much to drink. A week later, Kira had enough. She packed up her few belongings and fled the inn, thereafter making a living on the streets. She had never joined a gang, and did not steal other than what was necessary to keep her alive.

Kira moved closer to the stall and bumped into a lady dressed in simple, but well-made peach-colored gown. She stumbled, but the lady reached out a hand and steadied her. "Are you all right, dear?"

"Yes, my lady," replied Kira, moving back a step and brushing herself off.

"You don't sound like a kid of the streets," frowned the lady. "Yet you look like one."

"I'm am a ch-kid of the-," began Kira, then realized that the lady herself had said "kid" instead of "child".

Mage Briar leaned forward. "Sandry, what are you doing?"

Kira gasped, as she realized that who the lady was. Sandrilene fa Toren was a famed stitch witch and one of Mage Briar's foster-sisters. "Oh! Lady Sandrilene, forgive me for bumping into you."

"It's just Lady Sandry," laughed the lady. "And it's all right. Now, what is your name?"

"Kirana Ellis," responded Kira. "Kira for short, my-I mean, Lady Sandry."

Briar took a good look at Kira, then frowned. "You have magic, Kira."

Kira turned and gasped. "Magic? My parents had me tested for magic when I was five since my father's family has been known to produce a few mages. I was found to not possess any, Mage Briar. What you are suggesting is impossible."

"You have magic," said Lady Sandry. "Briar and I can see magic and we see that you have it."

Briar nodded and pointed at his minature trees. "They've grown buds. Now I'll have to clip them off."

Kira froze. "You aren't suggesting I have plant magic like you? That I'm an ambient mage?"

Briar and Sandry blinked. "How do you know about ambient mages?"

"I have an aunt who told me about ambient and academic mages the last time she visited Summersea, which was three years ago," answered Kira patiently. "She studied at Lightsbridge. And my parents told me all about the two of you and Mages Trisana and Daja."

"Then why are you dressed like a street rat?" asked Briar blunty.

"Because I _am_ one," said Kira, losing patience. "My parents died two years ago and I ran away after my uncle took over their inn. Would you stay someplace where you were forced to work like a slave and beaten every time your uncle got drunk, which was every night?"

Sandry and Briar blinked again, then Briar asked, "What about your aunt?"

"She's a traveling mage," replied Kira. "When my parents died, she was off in Capchen or the Namorn Empire or someplace. In any case, she wasn't in Summersea, or I would I have gone to her. I have no idea where is now."

"Well, do you believe us when we say that you have magic and with proper training will become a good mage?" asked Sandry.

"Yes," responded Kira. "I have wanted to be a mage like Aunt Ariane. Well, not exactly like her, because she's an academic mage and according to you I'm an ambient one."

Sandry exchanged looks with Briar, then after a moment, turned to Kira. "I'll take you Winding Circle where you will educated in your magic, Kira. Briar's busy with his stall at the moment." After a few seconds, she added, "Discipline will be the best place for you. Discipline cottage, I mean. That's where the four of us lived while we learned our magic, Kira."

Kira nodded. "May I get my cats and things first?"

"Cats?" asked Briar. "You have cats like Evvy did? She was my first student."

Kira nodded. "Three of them. Rosemary is the one my parents gave me for my eighth birthday and Peach and Pine I adopted after I became a street kid."

Sandry smiled. "Of course you may get them. Shall I go with you or should I wait here for you?"

"Maybe you should wait here," said Kira. "The place where I live isn't any place for a lady."

Sandry replied, "My clothes are made by me, so they won't get dirty. At least, I only have to brush them off and not wash them the way ordinary clothes have to be. And if anyone tried to attack me or steal from me, I could simply use my magic to unravel their clothes or have their clothes bind them."

Kira looked awed. "Then if you want to come with me, Lady Sandry, you may."

* * *

Matrim Person frowned as he and his father rode into Winding Circle. For all his short life of almost eleven years, Mat had thought he had no magic, though peculiar things concerning stones happened whenever he was angry or worked up in some way. Then a great mage known as Niklaren Goldeye told Merchant Person that his son had ambient magic. As Winding Circle Temple was the best, as well as the closest, place to learn ambient magic, Mat found his belongings packed up and himself readied for the trip to Winding Circle. 

He frowned even more, knowing the only reason that his father had been very kind to him the past couple of weeks was precisely because he had magic. Before his father was stern, complaining about how his second son had no head for the merchant business, liked to spent his time reading or playing with rocks, and possibly was dangerous if he made stones fly about.

Mat now dismounted and followed his father into the office of Dedicate Moonstream, the head of the temple. After a quick discussion, Mat found himself in a dormitory with other boys his age and a promise that arrangements would be made for a stone mage to teach him.

* * *

Prisandra Alderscroft looked up at the man standing in front of her. "You do realize you can't stay here, Prisandra," he said gently. "Not with your parents gone."

"It's _Pris_," she corrected. "Why can't I stay here, Master Niko? My parents left me this house and their money when they died. I have a governess here to look after me and my aunt and uncle can look after Papa's business."

"Because, well, Winding Circle Temple is a better place for you, Prisa," said Master Niko. "You would be educated there and there many mages. There is one dedicate who has magic with thread."

"Are you referring to Dedicate Lark?" asked Pria. "I know you can't be referring to Lady Sandrilene because she is not a dedicate there."

"So you are knowledgeable about things concerning magic," said Master Niko in some surprise.

"Well, my grandmother _was_ a mage," pointed out Pris. "But why do you want me at Winding Circle? "My governess has been teaching me ever since I was six."

"I suppose I have no choice but to tell you," sighed Master Niko. "Your aunt and uncle thought it best, and I agree since I see that you have some magic in you."

"Is that why I like sewing and weaving so much?" asked Pris, being a very perceptive girl.

"Yes," answered Master Niko.

"All right then. I suppose I can go to Winding Circle and be trained in my magic. I'll have Miss Stenson help me pack." With that, Pris left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Cordy hummed as she chopped vegetables in the kitchens of Winding Circle. She had been there for a week. The other noble girls were boring, but she was able to tolerate them because every afternoon she could escape them. The very next day after her arrival, she had gone to the kitchens and asked Dedicate Gorse, who was in charge, if she could help out. He had given her a meat pastry to eat and accepted her help, not commenting at all that cooking wasn't a proper job for a noble girl.

Just then, the dedicate who was in charge of the noble girls dormitory appeared at her side. "Lady Cordeline fa Maren! What are you doing here? Cooking is not a seemly occupation for ladies!"

Cordy set down the knife and turned to face the dedicate. "Women usually cook for their families."

"Not noble women! Lady Ardina wondered where you had been disappearing every afternoon and followed you. She saw you come in here and at first thought you had gone to get something to eat. When you didn't come out after several minutes, she came in and saw you helping Dedicate Gorse make gravy or a sauce. She reported it to me straightway. Oh, and you have flour in your hair."

Cordy reached up and hand and brushed her pale golden hair. There was indeed flour on it, no doubt from when she had been helping make the gravy for the mashed potatoes. "Didn't you tell Ardina that it is not proper for ladies to spy on others, Dedicate?"

"That is not the point, Lady Cordeline. You are not supposed to be in here working! I suppose you were here yesterday cooking as well? Lady Ardina said that Lady Emilia saw you walking toward the kitchens yesterday afternoon."

Dedicate Gorse walked over, a frown on his face. "What is this disturbance?"

The other dedicate rounded on him. "Do you not know that Lady Cordeline is a noble, Dedicate Gorse? How could you just let her work at task no proper lady should be doing?"

"I am aware that Cordy is a noble," responded Dedicate Gorse. "However, she practically pleaded to be allwed to help me with the cooking and baking. Besides-" He lowered his voice and led her aside. Cordy could not hear what he was saying and returned to chopping vegetables.

When she was done, the dedicate walked over. "Come, Lady Cordeline. Your afternoon here has ended. I will speak with Dedicate Moonstream and tomorrow you will be taken Discipline cottage where other dedicates will be suitably equipped to deal with you."

Cordy took of her apron and asked permission to go to the library. The dedicate nodded curtly and Cordy made her escape, as she did not want to spend the rest of the afternoon around the other noble girls.

When she went into the dining hall for supper, all the other noble girls were already seated at the table. They looked up as she sat down, then began whispering among each other, darting amused or shocked looks at her.

Ardina ei Perran looked haughtily at her. "Most nobles don't spend their time in the kitchens working like a servant."

Cordy glared at her, sapphire blue eyes sparkling with annoyance. "Oh, shut up! May I remind you that you're the daughter of a baron, while my parents are count and countess and distantly related to his grace Duke Vedris through his second son's wife, Ardina?"

The door opened again and Cordy turned to see a girl with short vivid red hair and emerald-green eyes. She carried eating implements and looked uncertainly around. Cordy jumped up and walked over. "Hello. You're new here, aren't you? You're welcome to join me at my table."

The redhead smiled shyly. "Thank you. My name is Kirana Ellis. You can call me Kira."

"Pleased to meet you, Kira. I'm Cordeline fa Maren, Cordy for short."

Kira stopped walking. "You're a noble? Oh no, the likes of me can't sit with the likes of you!"

Cordy whirled around. "Yes you can, Kira! I invited you and I don't care at all about propiety!"

Kira tilted her head to one side and considered. "I suppose I can sit with you, Lady Cordy. It's only for tonight, anyway. Tomorrow I'll be elsewhere. You see, I'm supposed to live in another part of this temple, but arrangements haven't been finished so for tonight I'm to stay at the girls' dormitory and have supper at the dining hall here."

"I see," said Cordy. "And it's just plain Cordy. You don't have to add the 'lady' part, Kira."

Kira smiled again and followed Cordy to the noble girls' table. The other girls began whispering again and Ardina tried objecting, but Cordy said, "Lady Kira is my guest and she will sit here." That ended the objections and once they sat down, the servers began serving supper.

* * *

Pris looked around the room she was to occupy at Discipline cottage, It was smaller than her old room, but it was neat. She sighed and then unpacked, wishing she could take off the horrid black gown she had to wear as mourning for her parents. If her mother were here, she would no doubt order her to do so. Serena Alderscroft did not like black at all and would no doubt turn over in her grave seeing her daughter wear black for her. Derran Alderscroft was a different matter. He had loved Pris, but he was a very proper man and would frown at his daughter breaking strict mourning codes.

When she was done, she went downstairs to see if Dedicate Lark could give her some help with her needlework. Sewing would take her mind off her grief for her parents.

* * *

Matt ignored the voices of the other boys in his dormitory as he buried his nose in the book he was reading. They did not interest him and none were the type he would pick for a friend. Furthermore, at least half of them had fun of his fondness for reading, nicknaming him "The Scholar". That afternoon, he had gone to visit the stone mages at the Winding Circle, but none of them had what he wanted in a teacher, except for a young woman named Evvy Dingzai, who wasn't a Dedicate at all, but a mage who had just completed her studies and gotten her mage's medallion.

Mat wasn't sure if he would be allowed to have Mage Evvy as his teacher, because she wouldn't be allowed to stay permenantly at Winding Circle unless she took vows. He sighed and continued reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Cordy sat patiently in the office of Dedicate Moonstream. After breakfast, she had been brought there and had been told that arrangements would be made for to live at Discipline cottage, since she wasn't fitting in the noble girls' dormitory. The door suddenly opened and a boy with dark brown hair and dark gray eyes came in. The dedicate behind him said, "Wait here while I speak with Honored Moonstream. I don't want you causing trouble again in my dormitory."

Cordy turned and looked curiously at the new arrival. "Hello, I'm Cordeline fa Maren, Cordy for short. Who are you?"

"Matrim Person, Matt for short," he answered. "And why are you talking to me? You're a noble and I'm just from a merchant family."

"I don't care about all that. I'll speak to whomever I want. That dedicate said you were causing trouble. Why?"

"I got into a fight. A couple of boys from my dormitory grabbed the book I was reading and threw it on the ground, making fun of my reading constantly. I lost my temper and hit them. I have stone magic, so these small rocks on the ground flew up and struck them also. So now I'm reassigned to live elsewhere, once Dedicate Moonstream arranges things."

Cordy smiled. "I'm being reassigned too. I didn't get along very well with the other noble girls and I kept slipping off to help Dedicate Gorse with the cooking in the kitchens."

A third person entered the room and Cordy saw that it was Kira. "Kira! What are you doing here?"

"I'm to be taken to Discipline cottage now," responded Kira. "While are you here, Cordy?" Cordy explained, then introduced Mat.

Just then, Dedicate Moonstream came out. "Everything has been arranged, Lady Cordeline, Kirana, and Matrim. You will be taken to Discipline cottage now."

Pris was busy spinning with Lark watching her. "You're doing this quite well, Pris. How much experience have you had with spinning?"

"My grandmother began teaching me to spin when I was four. And I've been sewing since I was five and weaving since I was seven."

"Very good, Pris. So now all you need to do is work with your magic. Someday you will be like my old student, Sandry, who can make clothes that won't keep in dirt or wrinkles."

Pris grinned and then resumed spinning, hazel eyes sparkling. She hadn't been this happy since her parents' death. Just then there was a knock on the front door. Lark got up to answer the door while Pris stopped spinning to see who it was. A dedicate and two girls and boy of about her age entered. The dedicate had a whispered discussion with Lark and then left, saying that the three children's belongings would be brought along shortly.

Pris got up and shyly introduced herself to the three, who smiled cheerfully, or in Mat's case, tenatively. Lark then took things in hand, saying, "There are three bedrooms left. You may each pick one for your own. Who would like the other upstairs room?" Mat raised his hand and Lark continued, "Then Pris, you can show Mat to his room. Cordeline and Kirana, you two can come with me."

Pris tossed her black curls and beckoned for Mat to follow her. As they went up the ladder, she said, "Dedicate Lark's nice. She's teaching me to work with my thread magic. The other dedicate is Rosethorn. She's pretty, but she's not very nice. Well, she has a good heart and cares for Lark, but her nature's as prickly as a rosebush's thorns. Just like her name. She's got magic with plants. You'll probably want to avoid getting her mad. She's already told me to stay out her garden without permission unless I wish to be hung in the well. I don't think she'll actually do it, but I'm still not stepping foot in her garden. I'm glad I'm going to be stitch witch and not a plant mage, because I don't think I'd want Rosethorn for a teacher. Dedicate Lark's ever so much nicer and is understanding. I don't know how Mage Briar Moss stood having Dedicate Rosethorn for a teacher."

Mat blinked and said, "Do you chatter on like this much, Pris?"

Pris shook her head. "I don't usually. But now if I don't talk on, then I'll think of my parents and get all sad again and start crying. I know it's all right to cry and greive, but Mama and Papa wouldn't like seeing me sad. My parents are dead, you see. Now could we talk of something else? Oh, and here's your room. Mine is across the hall."

Mat opened the door and said, "You can leave now, Pris. Not that I don't like your company, but I'd rather be alone for a few minutes."

"All right, Mat," said Pris cheerfully, though she did wipe a tear away. "I'll see you during the miday meal." She tripped away.

Kira sat down on her bed and looked around. It was like her room back in her parents' inn, only a little larger. She sighed happily, glad to be sleeping on a real bed. She had gotten used to sleeping on a pile of rags on the ground, but she perferred a bed. Peach and Pine wound about her legs and purred, while Rosemary jumped on her bed and demanded to be petted and scratched. Kira absentmindedly scratched her behind the ears and began thinking. Yesterday she had been street girl who had bumped into Lady Sandry and then told had plant magic. Now she was settled in Discipline cottage and would learn from a dedicate named Rosethorn, with occasional help from Mage Briar, who had discovered her.

There was knock on the door, startling Kira out her thoughts. Pris stood in the doorway. "May I come in? I would like to know you better, Kirana."

"What about Cordy?" asked Kira. "You should get to know her better as well, Prisandra. And call me Kira."

"It's Pris for me," smiled Pris. "And I can't just go and talk to Lady Cordeline! She's a noble! The likes of me can't just be on friendly relations with her!"

"Yes, you can," replied Kira. "Cordy doesn't care much about proper noble behavior. If you got her angry or questioned her nobility, she'll bring it up and use it, but most of the time she doesn't really care. Yesterday she invited me to sit with her at the nobles table during supper and she got sent to live here because she didn't fit in with the other noble girls and got caught sneaking off to the kitchens to help Dedicate Gorse with the cooking."

"Is she really that different from other nobles?" asked Pris. "Nobles don't talk to commoners except to give orders."

"Cordy is different, Pris. She spoke to me and invited me to sit with her. When the other noble girls objected, she told them that I was her guest. I'm just the daughter of innkeepers and lived on the streets for two years after their death. Mage Briar and his foster sister Lady Snadry discovered me yesterday and sent me here. I have plant magic."

"I feel sorry for you," said Pris sympathetically. "Dedicate Lark, who's teaching me thread magic, is really nice, but Dedicate Rosethorn isn't. She's really strict and is prickly as the thorn in her name. Even if she is pretty like the rose part of her name. She's got plant magic will be your teacher, I'm sure. She told me that if I set foot in her garden without permission, I'd be hung in the well. Dedicate Lark says Dedicate Rosethorn's bark is worse than here bite, so I don't think I'd be really hung in the well."

Kira grinned. "I bet. Still, she does sound scary, Pris. But Mage Briar had Dedicate Rosethorn for his main teacher so she can't be too bad."

"Well, I know she cares for Lark and her students," said Pris. "Now, please introduce me to your cats, Kira."

"All right, then. Cats, this is Pris Alderscroft. Pris, these are my cats. The tabby is Pine, the gray striped one is Peach, and the calico is Rosemary. She's my first cat."

Rosemary purred as Pris gently stroked her fur. After a minute, she said, "I think Rosemary is going to have kittens soon."

Kira looked surprised and checked. Rosemary was indeed a bit fatter than usual. "You're right. Pine must be the father, because he's a tom. I wonder if Peach will have kittens too. She and Pine like to sleep next to one another."

Pris picked Peach up carefully and said, "Well, if she's going to have kittens, it won't be anytime soon. All right, I'll put you down!" She set Peach on the ground and she stopped hissing and trying to scratch. "You'd better tell Dedicate Lark that Rosemary's going to have kittens. So she'll know what to expect if three or four kittens suddenly appear."

Kira nodded and the two girls left the room to find Dedicate Lark.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cordy and Pris were helping Dedicate Lark prepare the noon meal, while Mat was setting the table. Kira went out to call Dedicate Rosethorn inside. Kira walked passed the garden, stopping to admire the plants that were grown there, but she didn't enter. Lady Sandry had told her yesterday what plants might do to greet her and Kira didn't care to have assorted plants wrap around her arms or legs.

Finally she spotted a woman in a green habit kneeling in a corner of the garden, weeding. "Dedicate Rosethorn?" Kira called timidly. When the woman looked up, Kira said, "It's time for lunch. Dedicate Lark asked me to call you."

Dedicate Rosethorn stood up and gazed penetratingly at Kira. "You would be the young lady my former student Briar Moss found?" Kira nodded in reply and Rosethorn continued abruptly, "You have merit. After the noonday meal, you will join me with weeding. You will learn about the plants I grow during that time as well."

Kira nodded catiously and followed Rosethorn to the well to wash up. Then they went in the kitchen just as everything was ready. The six of them sat down at the table and Dedicates Lark and Rosethorn crossed their arms over their chests and said grace. Lunch was mostly a quiet affair, with nobody talking except for requests to please pass something and the thank-you in reply. When they finished, Rosethorn said, "I have something to say. First, I do not want anyone in my garden without my say-so. Second, if you have any problems or questions, bring them to Lark. She actually likes this sort of thing. Don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary. I hope I have made myself clear." There was silence as she got up and left the table.

"Rosethorn's bark is worse than her bite," said Lark helpfully. "You four don't have to be scared of her. She's really a wonderful person under her strict exterior."

Cordy muttered, "I bet her bark and bite are like chili peppers. Only with her bite, you just require a little less water to drink after being subjected to it." Kira stifled her laughter at this remark and exchanged amused looks with Cordy.

Lark smiled and said, "Now, the four of you will required to do chores while you are living here. The chores will be rotated so you don't have to do the same chore every day. The list will be on this slate and you can check it after breakfast to see what your chore of the day is. For now I would like Pris and Cordy to clear the table and wash the dishes. Tomorrow the official chore roster will be put up and the four of you can begin then." With that, she got up and left the room as well.

Pris and Cordy cleared the table and began washing the dishes. As they worked, they talked and got to know each other better. Pris found that Kira was right, Cordy was a very nice girl who didn't care much at all that she was a noble and perfectly willing to associate and be friends with commoners. By the time they were done, the two girls were firm friends. Cordy said cheerfully, "You're an awfully nice girl, Pris. I like you and you and Kira are now my best friends. I don't like the other noble girls very much, anyway. They seem to be only interested in clothes, gossip, and proper noble behavior. Some of them made fuss made when I was found helping Dedicate Gorse in the kitchens."

Pris raised a brow. "You like cooking and baking, don't you? Is it possible that you have cook magic, Cordy? That would explain why you like cooking so much. Like how I like sewing, spinning, and weaving a great deal and then turned out to be a stitch witch."

Cordy blinked in surprise. "Magic? But wouldn't my parents have known if I had magic and sent me to be trained in it?"

"It's not academic magic," explained Kira, who was standing in the doorway and had heard the end of the conversation. Both girls turned in surprise as Kira continued the explanation. "Academic magic, which is the type of magic most mages have, is the noticeable kind. Like seeing pictures in fires and doing love spells and potions. The other kind is ambient magic, which is what Pris and I have. It involves things we can't do without and usually connected with nature and doesn't show itself in flashy ways, so it's hard to detect. If you can see magic, then you can detect it, but not many mages have the gift of seeing ambient magic. They usually can detect academic magic. That must be why my aunt said I didn't have magic when she tested me when I was five or six. Though she wasn't a great mage, either, just a good mage."

"I don't think my parents will be too pleased if I do turn out to be a cook mage," sighed Cordy. "Cooking isn't a proper occupation for noble maidens."

"Neither is weaving and spinning, yet Lady Sandry doesn't mind," pointed out Kira. "But then again, she didn't have any parents to object. Only her great-uncle, and he didn't mind."

Pris nodded. "Dedicate Lark told me some stories about Lady Sandry. She sounds nice and a great deal like you, Cordy, in that she doesn't stand care much about her nobility."

Cordy grinned. "I hope I can meet Lady Sandry someday. My parents have met Lady Sandry and her uncle Duke Vedris, but I wasn't taken along." Then she sighed. "I wish more nobles could be like them, not so conscious about their rank and showing it all the time."

Rosethorn appeared then and asked Kira to weed the garden with her, so the trio of girls left the kitchen and went their separate ways.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning, after breakfast, chores began. Cordy had to wash the dishes, Mat had to dry them, Kira dusted, and Pris had to clean the privy. When the four were done with their chores, Dedicates Lark and Rosethorn gathered them together and began teaching them medition. Pris was the only one who didn't need to learn, since she had been living at Discipline for a week and already begun learning.

After, Mat went up to his room to read. He was soon lost in a book about stones and their magical properties when there was a knock on the door. He looked up, annoyed, to see the three girls standing in his doorway. One of Kira's cats, the striped one, ran into the room and jumped on his bed. He absently stroked her, for he liked cats, and scowled at the girls. "What do you want? I'm reading."

"We just want to get to know you better, Mat," said Cordy cheerfully, ignoring the scowl. "Since the three of us got to know each other yesterday and are now quite good friends."

"And I'm going to show you my treasure box, which nobody has ever seen except my parents, my aunt, and my friends," said Kira. She held out a lovely carved wooden box that had peeling red paint. "That means I want you to be my friend."

Mat really didn't want the girls there, but he didn't want to sound rude by telling them to get out, so he sighed and made room for Kira to sit next to him on the bed. She sat down and opened the box, which contained a ring, a knife, a worn volume of stories, another of poetry, a battered rag doll, a necklace of sparkly green beads, a small bundle of sweet-smelling dried herbs, and a faded picture of a couple with red hair.

"That was Ma's wedding ring," said Kira, looking sad. "The knife belonged to Papa. The book of stories Papa gave me for my sixth birthday and Ma gave me the poetry book for my seventh birthday. I've had the rag doll since I was a two or three and my aunt have the necklace the last time she visited. The picture is of my parents, which my aunt painted a few years ago. And the herbs were the very first I dried, under Ma's tutelage."

"Very nice, Kira," said Mat politely. "Thank you for showing me your treasure box."

Kira shut the lid and looked at the book lying on the bed. "Is your book interesting? I like to read very much, that is, when I'm not around plants. Ever since my parents died, I haven't had much chance to read anything except my two books. And they've been read so much that some of the pages are starting to fall out."

Cordy smiled and said, "I like to read, too. I much rather perfer cooking and baking, but when I can't do any of those things, I like to curl up with a good book."

Mat looked more interested. He loved to read and was pleased to find out that Kira and Cordy liked to read as well. They had something in common, at least. He looked questioningly at Pris.

"I don't read very much," said Pris. "I've always preferred to spend my time weaving or sewing. Though I don't mind curling up with a book to read, so long as it's interesting."

Mat nodded and turned to answer Kira's question. "Well, I think my book is interesting. It's about the magic properties of stones, and it might not interest you since you're not a stone mage. I have stone magic, which is why I'm reading it."

"Then I guess I should read a book on plant magic," said Kira. "I'll ask Dedicate Rosethorn if she has any books on it."

Cordy sat down on Mat's other side. "Now, do you do anything besides read? I don't spend all my time cooking and reading. And you were reading all yesterday afternoon."

Mat sighed and began his reply. "I play with rocks, do my chores, meditate, eat, sleep, use the privy, breathe, yawn, laugh or chuckle at funny things, dream, bathe, sit, stand, walk, get dressed, hiccup some-"

"All right, we get your point," laughed Pris, joining the others on the bed. "You do other things besides read."

Mat grinned. "I guess you three aren't so bad, for girls. I have a sister and she's really annoying, so sometimes I'm afraid all girls are like her. I know that's not really true, but the only girls I know are my sister, her annoying friends, and my girl cousins. Most of them are just as annoying as my sister. The ones who aren't are several years older than me and I don't have much to do with them."

Cordy and Kira exchanged looks, then Kira said, "I'll have you know we're not just girls, Matrim!"

Pris looked mock angry. "Boys can be just as annoying, you know. I have a boy cousin who likes to pull my curls, as if they were springs. And another one of my cousins once ruined the hanging I was embroidering at the time. And this annoying boy who lived next door decided that he was sweet on me and kissed me even though I made it clear that I didn't like him. I slapped him for his boldness and called him some name. He turned red and I guess he's learned to be more careful about whom he kisses."

"I get your point," smiled Mat. "I found the boys in my old dormitory annoying. They called me the 'Scholar' because I liked to read and made fun of me for it. I got into a fight over it and that's why I was sent here."

Cordy said, "Well, we won't tease you over your reading. Hmmm, I wonder if we'll be more than just friends and be really close. You know, foster brother and sisters like Lady Sandrilene and the mages Briar, Trisana, and Daja."

Pris shrugged. "Maybe. Dedicate Lark told me that Lady Sandry spun their magics together during an earthquake to save them and after that they were close. They could speak to each other mind-to-mind after that, and got a little bit of each other's magic. Like when Mage Trisana was able to see magic, the others got it as well, though not as strong."

"Well, I don't want an earthquake or something equally serious happening," said Cordy. "Though maybe you could spin our magics together, Pris."

"Lady Sandry did that in great need, Cordy," pointed out Pris. "Furthermore, Dedicate Lark told me that Lady Sandry is the only known mage to have ever spun or woven magic together like it was wool on a spindle or thread on a loom."

"Then I suppose it won't happen," said Mat. "Well, we're still on our way to becoming close friends." The four of them talked some more until noon, when they went downstairs to help prepare lunch.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Two days later, Briar, Sandry, Tris, and Daja came for their weekly visit to Winding Circle. They were a bit surprised to find four new students at Discipline. When Sandry discovered that Pris had thread magic, she spent half an hour looking over Pris's work and giving her some tips, such as the spell to remove wool from clothes. Then Cordy captured her attention. "Lady Sandry, I've heard that you don't act like most nobles. I'm the same, but my parents don't approve. Mama was mad every time she found me helping in the kitchen. And now it turns out that I have cook magic, which will further displease my parents."

Sandry sighed and had Cordy sit down next to her. "Well, when I was your age, I didn't have to go through much of that. My parents were dead then and I was at Winding Circle, and my Great-Uncle Vedris supported me. But when I was younger than ten, I did have to deal with such things. Other nobles looked askance at my parents for traveling so much and wouldn't let their children play with me because I might have picked up some 'bad' ideas. And commoner children weren't eager to play with me because I was a noble. I liked sewing, but was scolded for spending too much time on it, and though I wanted to learn spinning and weaving, I wasn't allowed because it wasn't proper nobles' work. It wasn't until I came to Discipline that I learned."

"So what do I do?" asked Cordy. "At Winding Circle, I'm free to go the Hub and learn cook magic with Dedicate Gorse, except for the meditation part, which Dedicates Lark and Rosethorn teach. But if Mama finds out, she'll have kittens, and then she'll have cats when she finds out I have cook magic. Papa won't mind so much, but he won't be happy about my magic, and ask why I couldn't have had thread magic or something. I mean, you're a great stitch witch, so he'd accept it I were one. Well, at least I'm not a metal mage like Mage Daja. My mother would have more than cats if I did. At least cooking is something women do. But smithing is something men do more than women."

Sandry sighed again and said, "You can deal with your mother, Cordy. You do want to be a cook mage, don't you? So learn to become a good one and never mind what your parents say. And remember, some people have it worse than you. Your parents haven't passed you around from relative to relative and then leave you at a Temple, saying that they don't want you anymore."

"What?" asked Cordy, looking confused. "Why would anybody's parents want to do that to their child?"

"Ask my foster sister Tris about it," responded Sandry. "She can tell you a little bit of her childhood."

Meanwhile, Briar was talking with Kira. "How is everything here, Kira? Are you getting along with Rosethorn?"

"Everything's wonderful," answered Kira. "And Rosethorn is a good teacher. She's not as scary as some people make her out to be and she's taught me some things about herbs that I didn't know before."

"Do you know how to read and write, Kira?" asked Briar. "I didn't when I first came to Discipline and Tris taught me in exchange for fighting lessons. I could-"

"I'm not your typical street-girl," said Kira dryly. "Or have you forgotten that I told you and Lady Sandry that I ran away after my parents died and my wicked uncle took over their inn? My parents taught me and my Aunt Idalia gave me some more lessons, mostly having to do with magic. And even if you have forgotten what I told you, the fact that I don't normally speak in street slang should tell you that I'm not a regular street kid. I grew up speaking properly for nine years and it would be hard to shed it."

"You say 'kid' instead of 'child'," pointed out Briar.

"So do your foster-sisters," countered Kira. "Honestly, don't you think that after two years of living on the streets, a few words of stree-talk wouldn't enter my vocabulary? There are times when I had to sound like a proper street-kid, you know."

"All right, all right," said Briar, throwing up his hands. "You're a lot like my first student, Evvy, in personality."

"I want to talk about your personality," said Kira. "Dedicate Rosethorn told me about you and there's something I don't like. She said that you are interested in women and is making that very clear. Don't you think that should stop?"

"I get the woman's permission before I do anything!" protested Briar. "And I eat-" He stopped and frowned at Kira.

"I know how babies are made," snapped Kira. "I asked my mother where babies come from and she told me. My aunt told me some more things and I learned the rest from my time in the streets. I know there's a herb you eat that keeps you from getting a girl pregnant, but you still shouldn't be doing it so much."

"I don't anymore!" exclaimed Briar. "Not since my sisters and I returned from Namorn. And why are suddenly so interested in what I do? You sound like my mother and not some girl I discovered to have plant magic."

"Dedicate Rosethorn has told me about you," pointed out Kira. "And I thought it strange that you could forgot your life as a street kid by showing the fact that you're interested in women by sleeping with them. You've probably seen girls who were-"

"Yes, which is why I always get the girl's permission!" interrupted Briar. "And why I ensure that I can't get them pregnant by-"

"Well, maybe if _you_ were the target of-" began Kira. She suddenly turned red and shut her mouth.

"What?" asked Briar.

"None of your business," snapped Kira. "It's something that will remain secret. Mage Briar, could you tell me about plants? Rosethorn hasn't told me all the uses of rosemary and I wondered if you could tell me." Briar accepted this change in subject and spent the next hour telling her about the properties of different plants.

Mat was talking to Tris and told her, "I don't like my father. I love him, but only in a he's-my-father-and-I-have-to-way. But before I was discovered to have stone magic, he ignored me except to make nasty comments about he. He twitted about how I had no head for the merchant business like my older brother, though I can bargin. He also frowned on my reading and wondered if maybe I was crazy whenever stones did funny things whenever I got worked up. But when I turned out to be an ambient mage, suddenly he was all nice and acted loving to me until I got sent to Winding Circle."

"At least he didn't pass you around from relative to relative and then tell Winding Circle that he didn't want to have anything more to do with you," said Tris darkly. "That's what my parents did. Only they dropped me off at Stone Circle and the dedicates there had me sent to Winding Circle. They thought I was possessed or something because of my weather magic. The magic-sniffer couldn't detect my magic, so all the things I did with my magic scared them. I have nothing more to do with House Chandler and my parents would only accept me back now precisely because of my magic."

Cordy had walked over just in time to hear what Tris said. She suddenly realized what Lady Sandry had meant with her comment. Cordy saw the look on Tris' face and decided it was best to not bother her. She had heard from Dedicate Lark that Tris was stern and a little like Rosethorn in that she didn't always get along with others. Just because Tris was talking with Mat didn't mean that she wanted to be disturbed by others.

After the four mages had left, Cordy sought out Kira. "I saw you were deep in conversation with Mage Briar, Kira. What were you talking about that got you so worked up? I know after the two of you were discussing plants, but what about before."

"Just something Dedicate Rosethorn told me about him that I didn't approve of," replied Kira. "He was a street kid, like I was for two years. How could he suddenly-well, he didn't go through what I had to, so I guess that explains it."

"What did you have to go through?" asked Cordy curiously. "Come on, you can tell me. I swear I won't tell anyone, Kira."

"You wouldn't understand," said Kira rudely. "You're a noble and lived a sheltered life. What happened to me is a secret."

"I read," pointed out Cordy, ignoring Kira's rudeness. "I have an idea of what life is like. I'm not a naive little girl."

"Your books aren't going to tell you about this," snapped Kira. "No character in a book I've ever read was almost someone's unwilling bed partner!"

"You mean that actually happened to you?" gasped Cordy, looking horrified.

"If I had been a boy, that probably wouldn't have happened," spat Kira. "But it did, and that was the reason why I ran away from my uncle. He was more drunk than usual. First he got mad over something trivial and began beating me. Then he dragged me to his bedroom and made it clear that he wanted me to sleep with him. I fought him and managed to escape. It was a good thing he was very drunk, or I might not have. I knocked him out with the water pitcher, then packed my things and left that very instant."

Cordy looked even more horrified and brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh! I can't believe-"

"You'd better believe it," snapped Kira. "I don't make things up, except for stories to entertain little children. And you are not going to tell anyone about this, Cordeline fa Maren. Not even Pris and Mat, even if they're becoming our friends. If I feel that someday they should know, I will tell them. Is that clear?"

Cordy nodded. "I promise that I won't tell anyone."

"Good," said Kira. "I'm going out to help Rosethorn with the weeding."

Author's Note: Well, you've gotten a little bit of Kira's background, and know about Mat's relationship with his father. In the next chapter, you'll find out some more about Pris and Cordy. Kira's views on Briar's behavior is what I've been thinking ever since I read _Will of the Empress_. I still liked him, but I wasn't very happy with the way he was too much a ladies' man and slept with servant girls and flirted with the Empress. I know he ate droughtwort to make him sterile and got the girl's permission, but I thought with Rosethorn bringing him up, he would have been different.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

There was a great deal of discussion over who would be Mat's teacher. Lark suggested several dedicates that were stone mages, but Mat refused each one. He stubbornly insisted on wanting the stone mage Evvy Dingzai to be his teacher. "She's the only one that will really understand me. She told me that her parents didn't appreciate her, and never would except as a mage. My parents were the same. They only started acting as if they really loved me when it was discovered that I had magic. The only other person I know who understands completely is the mage Trisana, and she's a weather mage, not a stone mage."

Rosethorn rolled her eyes. "Stone mages," she muttered. "Always so stubborn." In the end, it was decided that Evyy could be Mat's teacher, and every afternoon, he took his lessons with her. He quickly began learning the properties of various stones, and could bring light into crystal-like rocks and heat into non-crystal ones.

Cordy spent every afternoon in the Hub, helping Dedicate Gorse with the cooking and learning how to use her magic in the process. She learned several new recipes, figured out how to smooth out a sauce she had accidentally made lumpy, and one day, created a new variation of a cake involving a great deal of berries and whipped cream. She reveled in it all and jokingly said that if she had to eat all her creations, she'd end being as fat as a ball of pudding.

Kira spent afternoons weeding the garden and in the process learned about plants from Rosethorn. Her head quickly became stuffed with information like valerian was good for helping people sleep and willowbark combated headaches and fevers. She was a bright student, and Rosethorn remarked once, "You're learning as quickly as Briar did. I wouldn't be suprised if you got your medallion early like he did." Kira stared in shock, for Rosethorn was not the type to give out praise.

Pris's lessons consisted mostly of her magic, since she could already spin, weave, sew, and embroider. She learned the spell that removed bits of wool and fluff from her clothes, and she stopped wearing mourning. Black was impractical with all the work with undyed wool, and anyway, her mother hadn't like mourning. Lark guided Pris through weaving with magic, and taught her a spell that would allow cloth to resist dirt and wrinkles. Pris learned how to weave with magic fairly quickly, but she had difficulties with the latter spell. Parts of the cloth resisted her, and the portions that didn't only resisted dirt or only wrinkles, not both.

"This is so frustrating!" she snapped. "Why can't I master this properly?"

"Everyone can't all be great mages like Sandry or me," said Lark, sounding a trifle amused. "And you will master this in time, Pris."

"I'd better," muttered Pris.

A few days later, Cordy's parents showed up, not looking pleased at all. Actually, Lady Drusilla fa Maren looked outraged, while Lord Cedric fer Maren merely looked displeased. "Cordeline fa Maren, what is this I've heard about you being a cook mage?" demanded Lady Drusilla angrily. "You are a noble lady! Cooking is an unseemly occupation for some like you!"

"Mother, I like cooking, and I can't give up my magic," said Cordy patiently. "Would you rather that I wasn't trained at all? If that happened, I could cause things to happen with the food at a dinner party. You wouldn't like that, would you?'

"No," admitted Lady Drusilla. "But still, cooking! You're a noble lady, not a commoner! Why couldn't you have thread magic like Lady Sandrilene? Not that weaving and spinning is a seemly occupation for noble ladies, either, but it's better than cooking. And nobody would raise eyebrows over it precisely because another noble has the same magic."

"Well, the gods saw fit to give me cook magic, so there's nothing I can do," snapped Cordy. "Would you rather that my magic was in carpentry or metal-working?"

Lady Drusilla looked horrified. "Fine, your magic isn't as bad as some. But I still don't approve of it, Cordeline."

Lord Cedric nodded. "And just why are you living in Discipline cottage, Cordeline?"

"Because that's traditionally where mage-gifted students stay if they don't fit well in a dormatory or don't plan to become a novice."

"Not fit in?" asked Lord Cedric. "You were around other noble girls of your age, Cordeline! You would fit in better with them than with the three who-knows-what children that are living here with you."

Cordy's eyes flashed angrily. "Do not insult my friends, Father! Nobles are supposed to be behave properly and not go around insulting others. I get along better with Kira and Pris than I do with some silly noble girls. I even get along better with Mat, and he's a boy!"

"You shouldn't be spending so much time with people that are inferior to you, Cordeline," said Lady Drusilla coldly.

"They're not inferior!" shouted Cordy. "A mage, or anyone that's going to be a mage, is not inferior to a noble. We're all equal. That's how the gods made us. It's the people that came up with titles and decided that some were more superior than others."

"Do not talk back to me, Cordeline," snapped Lady Drusilla, looking angry. "I am your mother, and you will obey me."

"Fine!" snapped Cordeline. "But you're not taking me away from Discipline! I like it here, and Dedicates Lark and Rosethorn are nice."

Lady Drusilla opened her mouth, but Lord Cedric placed a hand on her arm and whispered in her ear. "All right, you may continue living at Discipline, Cordeline. However, you are to spend as little time as possible with the other three children here. Good day." The two left, not bothering to make Cordy promise to obey them.

Cordy, of course, didn't obey her parents. She continued to be friends with Pris and Kira. Mat was still a little distant, but he was gradually opening up each day, and around the girls, he wasn't so stubborn and prickly. He got along best with Kira, who enjoyed reading as much as him.

A week before Midsummer, Kira's aunt showed up at Winding Circle. She stopped at Discipline to visit with Lark, and was very surprised to find Kira there. "Kira! What are you doing here?"

"Aunt Ariane, I'm so glad to see you again!" exclaimed Kira, hugging her aunt. "I'm here because it was discovered that I have magic with plants."

"So you have ambient magic, dear? No wonder I didn't see any magic in you. Now, what happened to you since your parents' deaths? I showed up at the inn, and that uncle of yours said your parents died a month ago. I asked about you, and he said you'd run off a week after he took over. I looked for you, but I'm not any good with locator spells, so I never found you."

"I lived on the streets," responded Kira. "I couldn't stand to be living under my uncle's thumb. He treated me like a slave, and tried to take me to his bed. I ran away right after I fought him off, Aunt Ariane."

"You poor dear," said Aunt Ariane. "If I'd arrived in Summersea a month earlier, I'd have been able to help you. I'd have taken you with me on my travels, and once we finally discovered you had magic, I would have brought you to Winding Circle or Lightsbridge."

"It's all right, Aunt Ariane," replied Kira. "We can't change the past. Besides, I survived, and I'm at Winding Circle now."

Ariane hugged her niece again, and then they chatted for awhile. Finally she got up and left for the guesthouse, with the promise to return tomorrow and that she would be staying for a month.


End file.
